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Sustainable Living Center self-sufficient for water, greenhouse soon finished
by Global Good News staff writer

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12 March 2013

The Sustainable Living Center at Maharishi University of Management, which opened last spring, has achieved self-sufficient water sourcing, and the building's greenhouse will soon be finished. Both of these developments represent the constant strides made by the Sustainable Living department to create a fully self-sufficient and educational building.

Dr David Fisher, founder of the department and advocate for the design and construction of the innovative centre, talked about both new developments.

The Sustainable Living department, he said, recently received donations for finishing the greenhouse, and that project is underway now.

Plants are already growing in the unfinished greenhouse 'and we have been using them in classes' and other learning experiences, said Dr Fisher.

Soon more plants will be growing in the greenhouse. Once the coverings are on, the walls are up, and the soil is in the soil well, 'we can fill up the greenhouse with plants'.

Another advancement in the Sustainable Living Center is the building's new water self-sufficiency. Now all the water used in the building is sourced from rainwater that falls on the roof and is collected in a cistern. This even includes drinking water, Dr Fisher added.

When asked if the water was safe to drink, Dr Fisher explained that it is thoroughly filtered.

'We have a battery of filters,' he said, '. . . . about six or seven different kinds of filters altogether that [the water] goes through. We want to make it absolutely as safe as possible.'

The water tastes good, noticeably different from the water that comes from the city. Dr Fisher added, 'We have thought about setting up a little station so that students could refill their water bottles.'

When asked if he expected the building to remain self-sufficient in terms of water, Dr Fisher explained that the cistern holds 10,000 gallons [37,854 litres] and that it only takes 2.5 inches [6.35 centimetres] of rain to fill it.

'This has been a very rainy spring,' he said. 'We should get plenty of rain to always have water in the system.'

See previous articles in this series:
∙ Sustainable Living Center moves closer to full self-sufficiency
∙ Sustainable Living Center 'the most ambitious environmental building'
∙ New master's degrees in Sustainable Living to launch next year at MUM
∙ Popular Sustainable Living department to offer MA and MS degrees: Maharishi University of Management
∙ Sustainable Living Center truly local, community built
∙ Master's in Sustainable Living to provide community assistance, valuable skill set

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